Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1506910
14 SEPT. 9, 2023 BLUE & GOLD ILLUSTRATED UNDER THE DOME Bryan Dowd — Soccer The senior goalkeeper from Willow Springs, Ill., got his season off to a terrific start by holding No. 2 Indiana to just 1 goal with 4 saves in a 1-1 draw for the Irish Aug. 24. Three nights later, he made 2 saves in a 5-0 shutout of IUPUI Aug. 27, to lift the Irish to a 1-0-1 record. Dowd started all 17 matches for Notre Dame last season, and made 43 total saves while post- ing a 1.39 goals-against average. Maddie Mercado — Soccer The graduate student forward from San Diego tallied 1 goal, 1 assist and a very impressive 15 shots — which more than doubled the attempts by any other player on the team — during the Fighting Irish's 2-0-2 start. Trailing 1-0 to Milwaukee in the season opener Aug. 17, she tied the game early in the second half, in the 46th minute, to spark Notre Dame's 2-2 comeback draw. Mercado was tabbed as a third-team All-ACC performer after recording a career-best 10 goals in 2022. Sydney Palazzolo — Volleyball The junior outside hitter from Shelby Township, Mich., recorded 39 kills and 17 digs during Notre Dame's 1-1 opening weekend Aug. 25-26 at the Under Armour Chal- lenge in Lubbock, Texas. Palazzolo, a transfer from High Point, led the Panthers and the Big South Conference in kills with 443 in 2022. Her 24 kills versus Wichita State in her Notre Dame debut nearly equaled her career best of 25, set last year. Matthew Roou — Soccer The junior forward from Germantown, Wis., found the back of the net three times in a 5-0 win over IUPUI Aug. 27 at Alumni Stadium in South Bend. It was his first career hat trick, with all three of his tallies com- ing in the second half of the Fighting Irish shutout. Through two games this season, Roou led Notre Dame in goals (3), points (6), shots (7) and shots on goal (4). TOP TOP OF THE CLASS OF THE CLASS Irish student-athletes excelling on the field and in the classroom ✦ GIMME FIVE While Notre Dame underperformed in 2022 against some teams it should typically beat — losses to Marshall and Stanford come to mind, as does a seven-point win over California — that decidedly did not happen against Atlantic Coast Conference teams. The Irish extended their regular-season winning streak against ACC opponents to 28 with victories over North Carolina, Syracuse, Clemson and Boston College. Notre Dame's average margin of victory in its ACC slate was 23.8, which was its highest in at least five years and probably much longer. Even in 2012, when Notre Dame last made the national championship game, it beat four ACC opponents by an average of 23.5 points. Notre Dame's closest game on its ACC slate in 2022 was a 45-32 win over UNC Sept. 24. An upstart Syracuse team was no problem Oct. 29. Clemson came to town Nov. 5 and was met with a field-storming, 35-14 upset win. Two weeks later, the Irish beat Boston College 44-0 amid a blizzard in the second half. The last time Notre Dame lost to an ACC team in the regular season was Nov. 11, 2017, when the Irish went to Miami and lost 41-8. Clemson has beaten the Irish twice in postseason play, once in the semifinals of the 2018 College Football Playoff and again in the 2020 ACC Championship Game. COVID forced Notre Dame to play a full ACC schedule and become a member in that latter season. As part of its deal with the conference, Notre Dame must schedule five ACC teams each season. The Irish faced only four in 2022, so they added one for 2023. Notre Dame begins its ACC slate at North Caro- lina State. Games at Duke, at Louisville, versus Pitt, at Clemson and versus Wake Forest will follow. — Jack Soble CHARTING THE IRISH HISTORIC HARTMAN One game into his Notre Dame career, graduate student quarterback Sam Hartman made the record books. The transfer from Wake Forest completed 19 of 23 passes for 251 yards with 4 touchdowns in Notre Dame's 42-3 win over Navy Aug. 26 at Aviva Stadium in Dublin, Ireland. His completion percent- age of .826 is the 11th-best single-game mark in program history. "I think we just had a great plan, and we went out and executed it," Hartman said after the game. "Not really any of my abilities, more the guys around us." Hartman comes in just behind DeShone Kizer and Jimmy Clausen (twice), who are tied for eighth on the list with a completion percentage of .833. Clausen's first of two .833 showings was somehow a subpar game for him. He completed 15 of 18 attempts but for only 110 yards with 2 interceptions and no touchdowns in a 27-21 win over Navy in 2008. Clausen appears for a third time at No. 7, thanks to his .846 completion percentage against Hawai'i in the 2008 Hawai'i Bowl. At No. 4, Notre Dame has another three-way tie: Jarious Jackson, Rick Mirer and Rick Slager reached .857 in 1998, 1991 and 1976, against Navy, Purdue and Northwestern, respectively. Malik Zaire completed 19 of his 22 passes in a 38-3 drubbing of Texas in 2015, earning him the No. 3 spot at .864. In his final game in a Notre Dame uniform, Drew Pyne hit 23 of his 26 tar- gets against USC in 2022 for a percentage of .885, which is sec- ond on the list. The best single-game comple- tion percentage in Notre Dame history: Steve Beuerlein on Sept. 22, 1984. Beuerlein connected on 10 of 11 throws in a 55-14 victory over Colorado. — Jack Soble The Fighting Irish went 4-0 against the ACC last year, with the exclamation point being a 35-14 beatdown of Clemson in November. PHOTO BY CHAD WEAVER NOTRE DAME'S TOP SINGLE-GAME COMPLETION PERCENTAGES Rk. Quarterback Pct. Year Opponent 1. Steve Beuerlein .909 1984 Colorado 2. Drew Pyne .885 2022 USC 3. Malik Zaire .864 2015 Texas 4. Jarious Jackson .857 1998 Navy Rick Mirer .857 1991 Purdue Rick Slager .857 1976 Northwestern 7. Jimmy Clausen .846 2008 Hawai'i 8. DeShone Kizer .833 2016 Nevada Jimmy Clausen .833 2009 Nevada Jimmy Clausen .833 2008 Navy 11. Sam Hartman .826 2023 Navy NOTRE DAME REGULAR-SEASON RESULTS VS. THE ACC Year Record AMV* 2022 4-0 23.8 2021 5-0 19.2 2020 9-0 17.1 2019 5-0 19.6 2018 5-0 23.6 * average margin of victory